It seems that during the holidays, you can’t visit a craft blog without running into some sort of tutorial for empty toilet paper rolls. You can turn this nifty piece of cardboard into a gift card holder, candy holder, little gift bags, etc. You name it, and there is probably a tutorial for it.

If you are one of the people that love turning empty TP rolls into any of the above, please stop reading now. Go away, because this post will scar you for life.

If you are considering making something out of a toilet paper roll, allow me to put you off that idea now. If you have been saving those empty rolls to make something, allow me to put you off that idea now. Or at least, let me tell you why those crafts make me want to run to the doc’s office to get a gazillion jabs – one for every germ that calls that empty toilet paper roll home.

Nomen est omen, people! It’s an empty toilet paper roll.

Think about it.

It’s an empty toilet paper roll that was in close proximity to the toilet. It needs to be, because what would be the point of having a roll in the next room when you need it in the bathroom?

Think about it.

There is a rule about how far your toothbrush has to be away from the toilet to avoid contamination. That toilet paper roll is right next to the toilet.

Think about it.

A toilet roll doesn’t stay in close proximity to the toilet only for a few hours. That roll stays there for at least a day or two. With people using it. They only wash their hands afterwards – after they have handled that toilet paper roll.

Think about it.

To pimp that empty toilet paper roll with fancy paper, ribbon and embellishments costs around $3. Skip the toilet paper roll, and you can still make a nice container/envelope out of the remaining things. Without the germs.

Think about it.

People also put candy in those rolls. Would you eat a piece of candy that was right next to the toilet for a few days? Same for the use of earrings, lip balm, etc.

Think about it.

I’m all for eating that piece of hard candy that was lost at the bottom of a handbag for months, and now has the consistency of soft caramel. That once soft piece of gum that now has the consistency of boiled sweets, is another fine example.

What I will not do is use/eat/wear anything that comes out of a toilet paper roll. Ever. If you give me one of those lovely craftily altered items, I will secretly wonder about you and your place in my life – because it is obvious that you want me to die of some toilet-germ-related disease.

Want to give me candy? Just put it in your pocket and dig it out when you see me. Nothing cleans teeth like the lint stuck to candy, I always say.

Till next time,

Miss Thimble

P.S: Did you notice how I repeatedly used the word ‘toilet’ without anyone thinking I’m a freak-a-zoid? It’s because you’ve been indoctrinated by all the TP roll crafts flyin’ around the net. Think about that too. Amen.

P.P.S: I’ve been giving the itty bitty Janome a good workout, and will share my progress in my next post. *hint* It’s for Mama Thimble.

I bought a sewing machine today. A Janome. It isn’t the new sewing machine. I have decided to wait till January to buy a new workhorse. (The shops are just way too crazy this time of the year!)

I was in my LQS today to buy more felt… And what did I spy with my little eye?

There, sitting at one of those little kiddie Ikea tables on a little kiddie Ikea chair, was a girl of about 7 or 8 years old sewing away on an itty bitty sewing machine.

I strolled over nonchalantly (and feeling like an idiot)…

Having no shame (well, not much) I asked one of the girls helping out at the LQS what the machine does.

LQS Girl: It sews.

Idiot Thimble: Yes, but what does it do?

LQS Girl now convinced that I am a creepy weirdo: Well, it sews.

Idiot Thimble: Yes, but what does it do?

LQS Girl now edging away from the creepy customer: Eeermmm… It sews?

Idiot Thimble: I’ll take one, to see what it does.

LQS Girl now feeling sorry for this obviously dim witted customer: You don’t have to buy one to see what it does, because it sews.

Idiot Thimble: I’ll take one anyway to see what it can do…

Okay, what I meant was ‘how many stitches does it have?’, ‘will the little motor burn out if I sew on it for more than 5 minutes?’, etc etc. I was just too mesmerized by the little girl sewing away on the itty bitty machine. It was cute. It was quiet. It was tiny. It had pink flowers on. A cute, quiet, tiny machine with pink flowers. I mean. Really. Who wouldn’t want one? Right, probably I’m the only person older than 10 that wants one.

(If you have seen the movie Despicable Me, bring to mind the scene where the littlest of the girls touches a stuffed unicorn at the fair and says: It’s so fluffy I’m gonna dieeeeee! Then you’ll know how I felt upon seeing the li’l Janome. It was so cute I thought I was going to dieeeee!)

It’s called a Janome Sew Mini, and here it is:

(Just ignore the two wooden roosters in the background.) In case you missed some of the cuteness…

Actually, it sews quite nicely. Miraculously well for something that weighs about the same as a loaf of bread. I tried it out as soon as I got home, and even though it is s-l-o-w, it is perfect for assembling blocks. (It even goes through two pieces of fabric plus batting. I tried, of course!) Now I can still do some basic sewing until I get a big ol’ machine in January.

Thank you so much to everyone that posted on the sewing machine thread. Everyone touched on things I had thought of, as well as things I didn’t. If you just want to know who won the $25 voucher, skip to the bottom of the post – otherwise, just keep reading and we’ll get to the winner that way too.

Good to know that the feet can be interchanged between Janomes. A separate bobbin winder is something I didn’t think of – in fact, didn’t even know existed! A fact that ended up on my wishlist. The Janome Yahoo group is something that makes another case for having a closer look at Janomes.

Needle down is something else on my wishlist. Thanks for mentioning the blanket stitch. I’m so used to doing that by hand, that I didn’t even think of that! Now I want blanket stitch! Like you, I also prefer a machine that is simple to operate and use, but it seems that nowadays all machines need a Degree to operate.

Never thought of Kenmore! Good to know about the front-load bobbin as opposed to the drop-in bobbin. I’ve never done FMQ on my Singer, because it was just too much of a hassle to get decent tension. The dreaded thread bunnies… – something to pay close attention to when shopping for a new machine. The Singer never had any problem with that, so didn’t think of checking for that.

I have heard that Janomes keep going and going! Good to hear that confirmed from a former dealer. The Gammill is tempting – but I have no space for one. Even though I have the place to myself, I’m trying to keep the whole house from turning into a craft space. Again, another 6500 owner praising the interchangeable feet.

Thank you, ladies – for your advice, and for taking the time to help. Now for the winner! Our friend Mr Random says the lucky gal is:

I spent the whole evening (and night) in a desperate attempt to burn down the kitchen bake cookies. Some things need writing down – like when dates change. If a friend didn’t phone me yesterday reminding me that the cookie business was going down this morning instead of Sunday morning as originally planned… *shudder*

So, I have nothing to show for last night in the line of stitching or sewing. That means that I’ll have a Saturday Night With (No) Friends, and that serves me right.

If you feel like popping over for an evening of no friends and left-over cookies, you know where to find me.

No, it wasn’t. It was a snowy and windy day when I reluctantly put in a trip to the LQS for some red felt to finish my ornaments. (Otherwise those things will never ever get to the point where I can actually display them.)

There I was, with my two sheets of pretty red felt… When I happened to spot some fabric I knew would be perfect to make something for Mama Thimble. A woman I might add, that has never owned or operated a sewing machine, but can make anything grow. To say she has a green thumb would be the biggest understatement in the history of mankind.

Mama Thimble can plant a damn stone, and a mountain will sprout. A skill this daughter didn’t inherit, in case you are wondering.

Where was I. Oh yes. I’m not sure what I’ll make for Mama Thimble, but I bought enough fabric (1.5 yards of each) to make a quilt if that happens to cross my mind.

The Wellington Boot print is Jack and Jenny, the dotted fabrics from the Everything Nice line, plus some Kona White thrown in. (All by Kaufman.)

What do you think? Perfect for someone that loves gardening, right? The boot print is also available in pinks and in reds, but somehow the green and yellow just screams ‘garden’ to me.

In an attempt to finish the ornaments once and for all, I’m joining the ladies over at Gone Stitchin’ for the Friday Night With Friends.

I stitched 9 of the 12 ornaments that were featured on the 2012 Aurifil Designer Blog Hop. For me, that’s a pretty good track record. If I actually stitched all 12, you would have known that I was the victim of a body snatcher…

As I mentioned in another post, I had an idea for finishing the ornaments that were different from what the designers had in mind. If I actually followed the original pattern, that would have been another sure-fire way to know that a body snatcher was on the prowl.

Most of my weirdo ideas never amount to anything, because my brain is much better at making things than my hands.

So far so good:

The hexagons are big. To give you a better idea as to the size:

Now I’m off to find the sheets of red felt that I am pretty sure is around here somewhere. If not, a little shopping trip to the LQS is in order. I may find something I didn’t even know I wanted needed. That would be a first, wouldn’t it?

The polka dot fabric in the first pic is part of a Top Secret project I’m working on. Okay, not Top Secret – I just always wanted to say that. More a case of ‘can only show you in the new year’.

Thanks to everyone that has commented on my previous post thus far. I’m glad to see that all of you touched on things that I had in mind, and also on some things that I wouldn’t have thought of, but would later on have wished that I did.

This morning I went to have a look around and… – sweet baby Moses, buying a new sewing machine is more difficult than buying a new house.

My trusty Singer was/is 11 years old, and seeing as it was a gift there was no way for me to influence the buy. Even if I could have, what the devil did I know about quilting and sewing back then?

Seeing as I can pick and choose this time round, I want a machine with all the bells and whistles on. The two that caught my eye today was a Janome 3160QDC, and a Singer Quantum Stylist 9960. (These caught my eye fleetingly as I turned tail and fled in horror after seeing the multitude of choices and realizing that I was out of my depth!)

How can you help? Easy – please tell me what machine you have (old or new), what you like about it, and what you would look for in a new machine. That sounds like work, right? Right. It is.

In return for your input and advice, I will give away a US$25 gift voucher to either amazon or a fabric shop to one lucky person. You choose between the two, and I choose the shop. (Why do I get to choose the shop? Because if you live in, oh say Australia, you may want a voucher for a shop closer to home. Same goes for amazon.)

One entry per person. The give-away ends at midnight (GMT) on Sunday 9 December, and I will announce the winner on Monday 10 December.